Moscow – Russia Invasion Spoof Report Spreads Panic in Georgia

Moscow – Millions of Georgians wrongly thought their country was being invaded after a spoof prime time news broadcast showed Russian tanks heading towards the capital Tbilisi and said the president, Mikheil Saakashvili, had been killed.

The spoof was broadcast on Imedi, one of Georgia’s biggest TV channels, and most viewers missed a brief announcement at the start of the 30 minute broadcast explaining that the news bulletin was a simulation of “the worst day in Georgian history.”

An agitated newsreader told shell-shocked viewers that the country’s opposition had called in the Russian military to quell political unrest and showed key opposition figures apparently agreeing to work with the invaders.

The bulletin caused panic across the strategically vital former Soviet state which is still struggling to come to terms with fighting and losing a short sharp war against Russia in 2008.

Gripped by panic, mobile phone networks crashed, people started fleeing the capital, crowds rushed to stock up on vital foodstuffs, and there were reports of volunteer fighters preparing to resist. Other TV channels interrupted their own broadcasts to show Imedi’s footage and, for a short period, some Russian media began to broadcast the “news.”

When Georgians finally realised that the news bulletin was a spoof they were furious. Crowds mobbed Imedi’s headquarters and opposition politicians angrily denounced the TV channel which is run by a close ally of the president, Mr Saakashvili.

Although Mr Saakashvili conceded that the channel should have made it clearer to viewers that the bulletin was a spoof, he said that the imaginary scenario was a real possibility.

“The really unpleasant thing about yesterday’s report – and I want everyone to understand this well – is that this report is as close to reality as possible, to what may really happen, and to what Georgia’s enemies keep in mind,” he said.

Opposition politicians had a different take. They said the spoof was an attempt to smear them as collaborators ahead of local elections later this year after two prominent opposition leaders recently met top Russian leaders, including Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, in Moscow.